


A War Not Done

by IndasCorner



Category: X Company (TV)
Genre: Alcohol, Drinking, England - Freeform, Espionage, F/M, Jazz - Freeform, Music, New Orleans, World War II
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-07-02
Updated: 2019-07-05
Packaged: 2020-06-02 22:28:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,063
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19450741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IndasCorner/pseuds/IndasCorner
Summary: Sorry for the sucky title. Neil and Hallie had a brief encounter while both working espionage missions during WWII. But now that the war is over, Neil has relocated to New Orleans and found Hallie singing in clubs in her hometown. The two meet again and find that the war still haunts them both, and in many ways, it's not over.





	1. House of the Rising Sun

The last time Neil had heard a woman sing so sweetly, he was helplessly watching Miri die, a casualty of war hung from the gallows fighting for the very freedoms a Romani might not enjoy in France. He still woke from his sleep at times hearing that voice and stayed awake to keep it from coming back. Even after he’d returned home and found his niece, the only family he had left, he couldn’t completely leave the war behind. Shanghai either. It all haunted him and wouldn’t let him go no matter what he did to erase the memories.

So he packed his niece and used his connections with the X Camp to get himself passage to America. To at least get away for a while if not start anew and hopefully leave the war behind him and find a new life for the only family he had left. But he wasn’t settled in New York. He was taken a little further than that. The Big Easy, New Orleans.

He hadn’t been in town for even a month when he found himself in a club at the heart of the French Quarter. The place was always bustling with life even in the early hours of the morning when most respectable people would be asleep. But not here. You’d think they were still celebrating the war’s end with the fervent vibe that constantly colored the streets whether or not it was Fat Tuesday.

Neil hadn’t been sure what to think of it at first. It definitely was a change from the scenes he had known in London both before and after the war. So as he sat with his whiskey in front of him listening to a familiar voice he had known years ago during his tenure with the X Company, he felt at ease. How someone he had known from that time could have such a soothing effect on him he didn’t know. But at that time he didn’t care. He simply sat back and enjoyed the vision that was Hallie Duvernay.

~~~

She had to insist on integrated clubs. Although she enjoyed performing for her people more than anything, Hallie knew the advantage in playing for integrated audiences. She had seen it too much in Europe to go back to the segregated clubs that underpaid and exploited her talent. But one thing she’d learned as a spy was how to negotiate and talk herself out of any situation. After all, she had been The Nightingale.

But while she stood in front of this audience for whatever time this was, she spotted a familiar face from the old days, one she didn’t think she’d see again, definitely not at home here in New Orleans. She thought his name was Neil. The one she had spoken to most on that particular mission was Albert, a fan of her work. But this one was the tough guy, the Englishman with a hard exterior. He didn’t seem to have softened much as he sat alone at a table near the back of the club. But she knew it was him.

Hallie finished her song to the wild applause that usually came whenever she finished “Put the Blame on Mame.” “Thank you, everyone. Glad you enjoyed that. We’d like to continue with a standard you might be familiar with. Hope you like this one, too.”

She winked at the audience and nodded at Joseph to begin the piano intro. He blinked, a bit surprised, but nodded back, taking his cue. Hallie stood stock still with her head bowed. With her eyes closed, she raised her head as she began, “There is a house in New Orleans…”

Her performance of “House of the Rising Sun” always had a haunting quality, beautiful but haunted. The club, usually bubbling with activity and excitement, seemed to stop breathing as she sang of a house of ill repute. She didn’t perform it often because she was aware of this effect. But she changed the repertoire when she realized Neil was in the audience. It felt appropriate.

~~~

It was beautiful. Neil felt that somehow even with her eyes closed to shut out the crowd, she was singing to him. She was getting a message to him. She remembered. She remembered him, she remembered their mission. But who knew if she hated him for it. His company had been responsible for the death of the person dearest to her. And he had been in on the whole thing. But despite that, she had carried on with her mission and taken on the dangerous task of transporting a person after she had initially refused. She had strictly relayed messages in invisible ink on her sheet music, but they needed her to get a stranded soldier to Spain. And that day at the train station, he watched her brilliantly slip past the German forces to deliver their package.

The song ended. Neil hadn’t realized he’d closed his eyes as well. Then his eyes met hers as they both simultaneously raised their heads. The applause was much more awe than joy. Neil broke their gaze and joined them. He then finished his drink, grabbed his jacket, and headed toward the door.

Neil stood outside the club a moment as if his feet wouldn’t cooperate and let him turn into the direction of the house he rented. His niece had already made a few friends and would be gone overnight for a sleepover. He didn’t have to worry about her. But he just wasn’t eager to return to that empty place just yet, not when the memories of the war and all he had done still haunted him. He looked out into the busy French Quarter, some drunk with liquor, others with joy. Somehow it reminded him that the war had never really touched this soil even though the Americans had been participants. But their buildings remained intact, the illusion that the war was great along with it. Neil had no such delusions anymore.

“It never really leaves you does it.”

He’d only briefly heard that honeyed voice on a mission that seemed a lifetime ago, but it was one he hadn’t forgotten even when the others blurred and burned away in his head. Neil turned around to see Hallie Duvernay approaching him, a slow saunter that accented her hips whether or not she intended to.

“No matter how far you go, you can never really get away from it. And the worst thing is, you can’t talk about it to anyone who wasn’t there. And sometimes not even with them.”

Neil adjusted his jacket. “I suppose not.” He then extended his hand. “Not sure if you remember, but Neil McKay.”

Hallie took his hand. “I remember.”

He saw the sadness in her eyes as she recalled the circumstances of their one and only meeting. He knew she looked at his face and saw Marcus. He released her hand and looked away. Guilt usually wasn’t an emotion he felt. He was an officer, a soldier who had to get the job done by any means, so there would be collateral damage. But he usually wasn’t confronted by those who lived with the damage he’d caused.

“Don’t worry. It’s not you I blame.” Hallie sighed. Her body relaxed a bit as she dropped her shoulders and looked off into the distance Neil had been staring into before she came. “It took me a long time to get past what happened to Marcus. Can’t really say I’m over it. But he made the decision. He wanted to protect me. So I just have to make sure it was worth it.” Her smile wasn’t overfriendly but sincere. “So what brings you here? Why’d you leave Europe?”

Neil faced her again, glad to be in casual conversation. “Needed a bit of a change, somewhere where every little thing didn’t remind me of the war. Didn’t remind me of those days. Turns out it really is hard to forget no matter where you are.”

He saw then that Hallie had smiled a bit wider.

“I really do miss the accent.”

It was his turn to smile. He hadn’t found much reason to lately, but something about Hallie put him at ease.

“And what about you? Thought you were a citizen of the world now. Surprised to see you back in the place you worked so hard to get away from.”

Hallie nodded. “Why don’t you come back inside? My set is over, and you can watch me undress.”

Neil flinched. Hallie openly laughed.

“Don’t worry. I just need to change my clothes. Not a good idea to wear your performance clothes more than you need when you gotta keep them nice.”

The dressing room was small, not much more than a closet, but Neil sat down in the only chair in the room. Hard as he tried not to, he watched Hallie’s silhouette behind the screen dividing the room as she talked.

“I came back here a few months after the war ended. I wanted to see if things had changed, you know, after seeing our boys go other there and fight for freedom. I figured we should have this back at home, right? So I came back, set myself up in the club here and watched around to see if it was still the same place I left. Turns out, there’s still work to be done. You get tired of fighting, but I didn’t stand in front of those damn Nazis singing my heart out to be treated like I’m second class to anybody.”

Hallie stepped out from behind the screen. The light brown dress she wore replaced the silver gown she’d been wearing on the stage. It did nothing to make her less impressive. He tugged at the brown jacket of his suit nervously.

“Well, Neil McKay, I’m sure the boys are packed up and probably having a drink by now. But if you were still ready to go home, I can drive you.”

“You know, I think I’d like that.”

~~~

“So you settled in Bywater.”

Hallie drove the blue Riley RM through the dark streets. Neil had been enjoying the ride, not having driven since he left England. They drove on the wrong side of the road here.

“Yeah. Nice place. Enough room for me and my niece.”

“Mmm hmm. Inconspicuous. Easy to blend in where no one will ask questions.”

Neil felt his chest get hot. He pretended to not get the implication of the statement although he could definitely take a guess. But somehow he felt his secret would be safe with Hallie.

“I stay close by, not too far from here. Needed to be far enough from work to get away from the noise but close enough to take the trolley if I needed.”

Neil nodded, not wanting the conversation to return to talks of secrets and spies.

“Well,” Hallie continued. “I’m having a little get together this weekend. Early show then the night off for me. You’re still getting to know the place and the people here, you might want to come by and meet some of the fellas. I think you might them. And they’ll like you, too.”

He nodded again. “It’s right over here.”

Hallie pulled over to the curb to let Neil out at the small home he rented. He opened the door to get out.

“Thanks for the ride,” he said.

“Don’t you want to know where to go?”

Neil turned to look at her confused for a moment. “Oh! You mean for the… yeah.”

Hallie told him the address in the St. Bernard Parish neighborhood she lived in and made him repeat it back to her. She then extended her hand.

“Goodnight, Neil McKay. I’ll see you then.”

They shook hands, and Neil exited the car and headed off. He realized she didn’t drive away until he had unlocked the door and headed inside. He immediately went to his bedroom and undressed in the dark before he climbed into bed. It was then he asked himself how Hallie Duvernay had thrown him and gotten him off his game like she had.


	2. The Dinner Party

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Neil attends a dinner party at Hallie's house. The two find just how difficult it is to leave the war behind but embrace a newfound solace.

He still wasn’t used to the New Orleans heat. And they had arrived right in the middle of summer. Even the nights were stifling and made his layers quite uncomfortable. He wanted to skip the undershirt but decided it best to keep the formalities for a dinner party.

Neil hadn’t gone to Hallie’s show earlier, instead opting to spend the day with his niece before sending her off to another sleepover. He was glad she was adjusting so well, blending in with the other kids. At least she hadn’t ended up in a home for war orphans though they had still found themselves in the middle of Catholicism in New Orleans. Neil hadn’t much use for anyone’s god these days, but he had to admit there were many beautiful things in the city left by the Catholics.

But as he arrived at Hallie’s door, he thought nothing of god, religion, the war, or his niece. He stepped up to the door, adjusted the tie he rarely wore, and knocked. Seconds later, Hallie stood in front of him. She was dressed casually in her button down dress, but her smile made it seem radiant.

“You found the place.”

“You were right. Straight shot from the trolley.”

“Come on in. Everyone else is here.”

He had arrived just as everyone was sitting down to dinner. He recognized Joseph from the piano. He was then introduced to--

“Charles on bass.”

“William on trumpet.”

“Daniel on drums.”

And “Walter on saxophone.”

Walter.

“Walter, come give me a hand in the kitchen,” Hallie said. Neil was certain she had seen him flinch at the name.

They all greeted each other with the regular pleasantries and made all the correct dinner table talk as they waited for the food to be served. Hallie suddenly reappeared from the kitchen.

“Neil, would you mind helping me out a moment. We need to pick out the wine.”

With no further word, Neil accompanied Hallie to the cellar. He followed behind her and watched her as she descended the stairs and switched on the light in the cellar, which was really not much more than a small closet sized room. But there was a respectable wine selection against the wall.

“So, what’s it gonna be?”

“Well, um…”

Neil looked around at the selection before him and suddenly felt like a world-class dunce. He had no idea what to choose.

“Red, white?” Hallie asked.

“I think a…”

“You don’t know, do you?”

He finally turned his head toward her. She was standing much closer than he realized.

“No, I don’t.”

Hallie stepped even closer. “I knew you didn’t. You didn’t even ask what we were having for dinner. How would you know which wine goes with it?”

Neil smiled. That wasn’t an expression he showed much without it being a performance, but he genuinely smiled at this woman standing dangerously close to him.

“Don’t worry. I just wanted to speak with you a moment. You should stay after the others have left. We can talk then.” She then reached out in front of him, her arm across his chest. She didn’t even look at the bottle she picked up and gently thrust against him. “And this one will be just fine.”

~~~

Neil sank into the sofa, the whiskey Hallie had poured for him in hand. He listened as she said goodbye to the others at the door. He felt full, not just from the meal but from the camaraderie he’d had with the others. The guys he had been introduced to weren’t the same ones she’d been with on that fateful mission. But Hallie believed in having a band day that had nothing to do with work. So it was nothing to her to prepare a homecooked meal once a month and sit back with the band and have no worries.

He watched her as she came back into the sitting room to join him on the sofa. Hallie sat back with a sigh, showing a weariness Neil didn’t know she had in her. Apparently even nightingales needed their rest as well.

“Sometimes it’s good to be back,” she said. “Other times I feel like it was easier to be there.”

Neil nodded. “Know what you mean. Hard to make yourself calm down and relax when you’re used to always looking over your shoulder.”

“Can’t say I ever really stopped,” Hallie said as she adjusted herself to face him more directly. “And what about you? You left home to come here. Something must have driven you.”

Neil set his glass down on the coffee table in front of him. He looked around at the pictures on the wall, the ones he knew had to be Hallie’s family. And, of course, the ones with Marcus, in their younger years and more recently before his passing.

“Can’t really say why here specifically. Just knew I had to be out of England, at least for a while. It all felt a bit… stifling. Couldn’t get it all out of me head while I’m still seeing the wreckage every time I turn around. And me niece, well, thought it would do her some good, too. She lost both her parents. Not fair that all she got left is me.”

“But it was luck,” Hallie said as she picked up the whiskey glass Neil had drunk from. She left traces of her lipstick on the rim as she set it back on the table. “How many men you know would take in a child not theirs, alone with no wife to help? I mean, unless she makes a good cover.”

He blinked at her, startled at her bluntness.

“I want to take care of her. She’s all I got left now, too.”

“I’m certain of that,” Hallie said. “But hard to deny she makes a good cover in more than one way.”

His shoulders stiffened, his eyes narrowed slightly. But Hallie laughed.

“You have to ignore me sometimes. When you been in this particular business as long as I have, you always looking for the game. Everybody’s secrets. Hard habit to break, especially when you still can’t tell anybody what really went down.”

Neil softened again. Relaxed.

“Maybe that’s why I left. Didn’t want to feel that way again.

Hallie nodded. “I get it. I really do. But I just hope you know that it’s alright. Sometimes it feels like the war ain’t over, and it’s alright to feel that way, McKay.”

He looked at her face. It was nice when she didn’t feel the need to have her guard up. He’d seen her cry when she realized Marcus was dead but managed to pretend nothing happened less than 24 hours later. He knew what it was like to have to hold it all in with no way to release it.

“Miri. She was my release. My relief. She died because she wanted to be free but not without the rest of us.”

“She sounds special.”

“She was.” He always had liked the feisty ones. “But I was standing 20 feet away from her. Couldn’t do a goddamn thing to save her.”

He inhaled deeply and sunk his head in his hand. That memory more than any other haunted him. It was the one memory that made it most difficult to sleep at night. And he had killed. He had done things he would have never thought himself capable in the name of his country, but the memory of a Romani freedom fighter he had loved was the one that followed him long after he watched Tom and Harry die, long after he said goodbye to Albert and Aurora.

He had cried that day, and Miri had seen him cry. That was why she began to sing, to let him know she understood. After all, she had to have been willing to die when she became a freedom fighter. But Neil still found it unfair, not only to him. He had been so lost in that memory of Miri that he almost didn’t notice Hallie put her hand on his. Almost.

“It’s alright. It’s alright, Neil. We all had some tough choices to make, so there had to be some you regret. But you can’t change it now. None of us can. But we were in a war. And, well, I guess we won. So we have to look at it like it was all worth it. We had to make our choices, and some of them came with sacrifices. I’m sorry you lost her, and I know you’ll carry her with you for the rest of your days.”

He nodded again. The tears that wanted to come didn’t. He felt better, relieved. Neil cleared his throat to collect himself.

“Why… why did you ask me here? I mean, why did you ask me to stay behind tonight?”

Now it was Hallie’s turn to unload. “I’ve always been good at keeping secrets and putting up a front. But it’s still hard sometimes. And the only people who understand are the ones who were also there, who also had to live the same life. They keep telling you ‘we’ll recognize you when it’s safe to do so, but we don’t want to put you in any unnecessary danger.’ Well, you can keep the goddamn medal, just let me tell somebody about what I’ve been carrying in me all this time. It just feels too heavy sometimes.”

Neil soothingly patted her hand. He had never been the comforting type though he had gotten better when it came to dealing with his niece. But it was the one gesture he felt would be alright with Hallie.

“Bet you got some stories, I mean, other than the Spain job.”

Hallie laughed heartily. “You bet I do.”

~~~

Neither of them had realized how late it had gotten by the time they were done exchanging stories and sharing their scars and wounds, the ones that weren’t visible. But a weight had been lifted. They both had the release they needed. So neither of them complained about the late hour by the time either had bothered to check it.

“Look, the trolley’s done for the night, and I try not to drive too much at night. But if you really want, I can take you home. However, you’re welcome to stay here. I got a spare room, and you’ll be comfortable.”

Neil thought it over a moment, but it didn’t take him long to figure out he wasn’t looking forward to going back to that empty house. In fact, he’d been relieved when Hallie had approached him to stay a little longer.

“If it’s not too much trouble, I think I’ll stay.”

Hallie gave him that smile. “It’s not.” She beckoned him to follow. “I’ll show you your accommodations, Mr. McKay.”

He followed her to the spare bedroom. He could tell it was sparsely if ever used. Just a bed and a small desk in the corner with a chair, a nightstand by the bed. More than he had in that cell in Shanghai. He tried not to think about that as Hallie gathered the bedding from the closet to make the bed. She set the bedding on the desk to pick out the fitted sheet.

But Neil gave in to his craving at that moment. He gently placed his hand on her shoulder. His intention was clear.

Hallie paused with the fitted sheet in her hand. She put it back on the desk and took the hand on her shoulder in her own.

“Neil, you sure about this?”

“Absolutely.”

“I’m not her.”

He stepped close enough for her to feel his breath on her neck. “I don’t need you to be. I came here to see you tonight, Hallie.”

Hallie turned to look at him. She saw nothing but sincerity in his dark eyes. Also his wanting. And it was directed at her. She also knew that she felt the same way, and she wanted to do more than talk.

She put her hand on the back of his neck to pull him closer. For someone with such a hard exterior, Neil McKay was a soft and sweet kisser with a gentle touch. Apparently, he could use his hands for more than fighting.


End file.
